Plug and jack construction



@111941. H, B, STONER Em 2,252,269 PLUG AND JACK CONSTRUCTION FiledMarch 2l, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l 0d 7, 1941 H. B. s'roNER ET AL 2,258,259

PLUG AND JAGK'CONSTRUCTION Filed March 2l. 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Zar/:5,

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PLUG AND JACK CGNSTRUCTION Harry B. Stoner and Rodney W. Phillips,Aurora,

lll., assgnors to Stoner Manufacturing Corporation, Aurora, Ill., acorporation of Illinois Application March 21, 1940, Serial No. 325,201

4 Claims.

This invention relates generally to electrical -contacting vdevices andmore particularly to a plug and jack structure adapted for use inpositive contacting multiple units thereof, as banks or groups, forquickly and simultaneously making or breaking a plurality of individualor interconnected electrical circuits.

In such devices, the jack constitutes the female portion of a singleassembly and it is adapted to removably maintain in electrical contactwith itself, a male portion comprising the plug. Each of the jacks andplugs of any bank made up of a plurality of such assemblies has a Wirelead attached thereto leading to a desired circuit which is to beclosed;or opened by operation of the jack.

This invention lends itself to the construction of a device of thisnature which will comprise a minimum of parts assembled in anadvantageous and sturdy manner by fewer operations than heretoforepossible. Further, the device is constructed so as to eliminate thedisadvantages of other similar devices of this type, namely, thetendency to distend the jacks when removing the plugs therefrom, thefailure to make absolute and perfect contact, the failure to positivelyand correctly seat and position the plugs, the difliculty in arranginggroups of assemblies in cooperative units, and other disadvantagesinherent in devices of this nature.

Objects of this invention, among others, are to provide a novel andimproved construction for a device of the character described, whichwill eliminate the disadvantages suggested above.

A further object of this invention is to provide in a device of thecharacter described, novel and improved support for the jacks.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a novel articleof manufacture comprising a jack which may be assembled along with aplurality of other similar jacks upon a support in a simple and yeteicient manner made possible by the construction and formation thereof.

A further object of the present invention lies in providing in a deviceof the character described, novel means for assuring centering,positioning and positivecontact of the plug within the jack.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the novel andimproved construction and arrangement of the supporting members of thejacks, whereby, among other advantages, full and complete sturdy ruggedsupport is provided by the use of only one perpendicularly disposed andtwo horizontallydisposed members.

Still a further object of this invention is to provide in a constructionof the character described, novel means for maintaining a horizontallydisposed member in stabilized position upon a vertically disposedsupport member.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide in adevice of the character described novel and improved means forpositioning a plurality of jacks in a bank whereby a plurality of plugsmay be disconnected quickly and not necessarily perpendicular therefrom,without in any way injuring or distorting said jacks.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the provision ina device of the character described of novel means associated with aplug retaining member, said means serving to fixedly hold a plurality ofwires together, and at the same time provide, if necessary, graspingmeans for said plug retaining member to aid in connecting ordisconnecting same from a bank of jacks.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide in a constructionof the character described novel means whereby plugs may be positivelysnapped into position within jacks.

Still a further object of the present invention lies in the provision,in a construction of the character described, of novel means whereby abank of plugs will be adapted to engage within a bank of jacks only inthe correct alignment of the cooperating individual plug and jackassemblies, misalignment being prevented by novel spacing arrangementbetween plugs.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in certain novel featuresof construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that variouschanges in the form, proportion, size and minor details of the structuremay be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of theadvantages of the invention,

For the purpose of facilitating an understanding of our invention, wehave illustrated in the accompanying drawings a preferred embodimentthereof, from an inspection of which, when considered in connection withthe following description, our invention, its mode of construction,assembly and operation, and many of its advantages should be readilyunderstood and appreciated.

Referring to the drawings in which the same characters of reference areemployed to indicate corresponding or similar parts throughout theseveral figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the jack unit of the present invention, thesame having various portions broken away to more clearly show theconstruction thereof.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of our improved construction showing theplug unit in the process of being disconnected from the jack unit.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view through our improved plug and jackunit assembly.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the construction of our improved jack.

Fig. 5 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view thereof.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the plug of our improved construction.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the plug unit of our construction.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary plan view of our plug unit having wiresassembled therewith.

Fig. 1G is a fragmentary perspective View of the vertical support memberof our jack unit.

Referring to the figures more specifically, the reference character Idesignates, generally, a jack unit comprising a plurality of jacks IIsupported in a bank, and the reference character I2 designates,generally, a plug unit, adapted to accommodate a bank of correspondinglypositioned plugs I3. Said plugs and jacks are adapted to be generallybrought together or separated simultaneously, thereby making or breakinga plurality of electrical circuits corresponding to the number of activeplugs or jacks.

The jack unit comprises a vertically disposed support member Illprovided with legs I or the like riveted, or in any other convenientmanner attached thereto, as shown at I6. It will be seen that one of thelegs, of which there are four, is provided with an upwardly extendingportion I 6 which aids in correctly positioning the plug unit I2 byindicating the forward end of the jack unit. By means of our newconstruction, no portion of the electrical circuits contact thevertically disposed member I4, hence same may be made of metal insteadof insulating material, and consequently be stronger than any devices ofthe same general type heretofore used.

Said member It is provided on its upper edge with a plurality of spacedupstanding projections I'I, the heads of which are adapted to be peeneddown or attened in the manner of rivets or the like, as shown at I8, forthe purpose of xedly attaching the horizontally disposed members I9 and20 thereto, as will be explained below. The spaces between theprojections represent the distance from jack to jack and necessarily thedistance from plug to plug.

For the purpose of assuring that the plug unit I2 will not be reversedand placed in wrong alignment within the jack unit IIJ, we arrange thespacing between the plugs and jacks in van irregular manner with respectto longitudinal disposition thereof along members I9 and 20. As anexample of this, the spacing may be equidistant, except for the last twojacks on one end, as for example on the left, as shown in the drawings.Thus the distance between the two extreme left projections II and I'Iwill also be greater than the distance between any other two projectionsII. This is probably best shown in Fig. 10.

We have found that an expeditious means is afforded for stabilizing thedisposition of the members I9 and 20 upon the vertically disposed memberI4, if the edges of the portions disposed between projections I'I arestruck outwardly as shown at 22, preferably alternately right and leftbetween consecutive projections I'I.

A member 20 of insulating material is disposed upon the top edge of themember I4 and it is provided with openings therein centrally thereof topermit passage of the projections I'I therethrough. Spaced along themember 20, we provide rectangular openings 23, each of which is adaptedto maintain therein a depending jack I I.

The jack II which we utilize is best shown in Figs. 4 to 6, andcomprises preferably a sheet metal strip stamped or otherwise formed andbent to suitable shape. A downwardly extending U-shaped portion isformed with a V-shaped crimp 25 in each of its arms 24 and 24'. One ofthe arms 213 also has a longitudinal slot 26 therein, said slot beingadapted to center the plug I3 therein and at the same time cause theedges Y formed thereby to scrape and clean the side of the plug andassure positive contact. The crirnps 25 themselves serve to resilientlygrasp the plug I3 when same is inserted therein through the top of thejack.

When said jacks II are formed they are made with the arms 24 and 24 ofthe U-shaped portion sprung apart as shown in Fig. 4. That is to say,said arms diverge rather than extend parallel to one another. Since themetal from which said jacks are formed is resilient, when said jacks areinserted within the rectangular openings 23 of the member 20, said arms24 and 24 will necessarily assume a substantially parallel relationshipto each other within said opening, thus causing each jack to beresiliently held within its corresponding opening.

The upper ends of the arms 24 are bent laterally as shown, one portion21 adapted to extend inward towards the center of the member 20 and liealong the top thereof, the other portion 28 extending towards the edgeof the member 20 and having a pierced tongue 29 depending downwardlypast the edge. This tongue 29 obviously is the contact lug to whichelectrical leads may be connected to the jack I I. The portion 2'I isprovided with a rearwardly extending portion in the form of a tongue orlug 30 on one side thereof. The purpose of the lug 30 is to provide asgreat a surface as possible for the projections 21 and 28 to be heldbetween mem'- bers I9 and 20.

The lugs 30 are of such size as to not interfere or come in contact witheither the upstanding projections I1 or the lugs 3U of the row of jacksII disposed directly opposite thereto. Inasmuch as these lugs arepositioned on one side of each of the jacks, and in order to keep theunit I0, as small as possible, the lugs more or less interlock withrespect to their shape as shown in Fig. 1, always of course beingsufficiently spaced apart to prevent short circuits therebetween.

' After the' jacks II have been snapped into position within theopenings 23 of the member 20 as previously explained, and have assumedtheir positions by reason of the resilience thereof, a second platemember I9 of insulating material is disposed thereon. Said member I9 isprovided with a plurality of openings for accommodating the upstandingprojections I1 of the member I4 and the spacing between said openings issimilar to the spacing between the projections. Since the shape of theprojections in cross-section is rectangular, the said openings willalsol necessarily be rectangular. The extreme left end of the member I9is provided with an opening which is separated from its next adjacentopening a slight amount more than the normal space between the rest ofthe openings. This corresponds to the spacing between the upstandingprojections I'I and I'I on one end of the member I4. Thus said member I9may be accommodated along with the member upon the vertical supportmember I4. On opposite edges of the member I9, circular openings 44 areprovided extending longitudinally thereof, said openingsbeing so spacedand positioned as to be centered directly over the jack openingpresented by each jack being positioned in the rectangular openings 23of the member 20. Thus, when theplug unit I2 is assembled upon the jackunit I0, each plug will pass through the corresponding opening 44 of themember I9 and into the corresponding jack II positioned in thecorresponding opening 23 of the member 20 and thus be forced into saidjack II between the arms 24 and 24' thereof.

When the member I9 has been-positioned upon the member 20, after thejacks II have been positioned therein, the upstanding projections I1,being of such length as to slightly protrude above said member I9, arepeened over, as shown at I8, and flattened in order to xedly secure saidmember I9 to the member 20. In production work the peening or rivetingof allof the projections I1 may be performed in one operation. Thus theportions of the jack Il which are disposed upon the member 20, namelythe portions 21, 28 and the lugs 3l), are tightly held sandwichedbetween the members 20 and I9. This operation completes the constructionof the jack unit Ill, but is merely a suggested one, and any otherequally effective processes may be followed.

The plug unit I2 consists of a plate member 3l of the usual insulatingmaterial provided with plugs I3 of the type shown spaced along themember in accordance with the spacing of the jacks II. In order to beproperly accommodated in the unit I0, the spacing between the two pairsof plugs to the extreme left I3 and I3 is the same as that between thetwo extreme left pairs of jacks II' and II. The spacing of the remainderof plugs I3 is `uniform and conforms with that between jacks `I I.

Note that the plugs I3 each consist of a shank 32 of tubular material,cpnstricted and rounded at one end 33 to simplify insertion thereof intothe jack II. The other end of the plug is provided adjacent thereto witha shoulder or flange 34 and permits a portion of the shank to protrudethrough the plate member 3l so that the end thereof can bepeened orspread as shown at 35 to fixedly secure the plug I3 to the said platemember 3l. f l

The plugs referred to above are more or less conventional inconstruction. However, we have provided a novel means for morepositively securing the plugs I3 within the jacks II. This meanscomprises a dent provided in each plug 75 intermediate the ends thereof,as shown in Fig. 7. When the plugs I3 are assembled upon the member 3|,they are positioned with the indentations 45 facing outward against theunslotted arm 24 Aso that when the unit I2 is inserted into the unit I0,each of the indentations 45 will engage against the continuous crimp 25of the arm 24 of its corresponding jack II.

One end of the plate member 3|, as shown in Fig. 2, is provided with ametallic member 36 riveted or in other manner affixed, as shown at 31,to said plate 3I. Said member 36 serves the purpose of holding the groupof wires 4I adapted to be attached to the individual plugs I3 incooperative assembly. Said' member 36 comprises a pair of bowed arms 36which'are provided with slightly upturned ends 38 spaced from oneanother at the top of said member 36, as shown in Fig. 3 and areprovided with offset portions 39. This arrangement makes it possible forwires to be quickly and advantageously slipped into said holder 36. Whenthe wires are all within the holder and attached or soldered to thevarious plugs, the wire holder having been previously provided with astrip of insulating paper 40, or the like, on the inside thereof, isflattened down as shown in Fig. 9. The flattening-down process, by

reason of the fact that the 4'arms of the bow 36, besides having theoffset lportions 39, are themselves offset from the axis of the holder36, is accomplished by a single blow on the top of the holder 36. Thisblow causes the flattening of the member 36 and tightly secures all thewires 4I.

It is to be noted that an important feature of the present invention isthe fact that the jacks are disposed so that the plugs may be rockedtherein in planes parallel to the plane of the member I4. Therefore,regardless of how the unit I2 is removed from the unit I0 and regardlessof at what angle said unit I 2 is lifted upward causing the jacks to bemoved parallel to the member I4 in the plugs I I, said motion can neveraffect the shape or springiness of said jacks since motion of that typemoves the plugsA sidewards out of the jacks.

It should be seen that by reason of the features pointed out above, thejack unit I0 so firmly and positively grips and holds the plug unit I2as to make bad contact between any of the plugs and jacks practicallyimpossible.

It will further be noted that the wire holder 36 which serves thepurpose of keeping the wires 4I close to the member 35, provides aclosely united bunch immediately to one side thereof, for example, tothe right, as shown in Fig. 2. Hence, in removing the unit I2 from theunit I0, said group of wires 4I may be grasped in the hand enabling theplug unit to be pulled upwards. It is practically immaterial at whatangle the plug unit I2 is removed from the jack unit I0 by the meansdescribed for reasons explained above.

It will be seen further that our construction provides simple and sturdymeans for accomplishing the purpose hereinabove set forth and it shouldalso be obvious that the construction shown and described lends itselfespecially to methods of manufacture in large quantities and withminimum of operations, materials and equipment.

It is believed that our invention, its mode of construction andassembly, and many of its advantages should be readily understood fromthe foregoing without further description, and it should also bemanifest that while a preferred embodirnent of the invention has beenshown and described for illustrative purposes, the structural detailsare nevertheless capable of wide variation within the purview of ourinvention as defined in the appended claims,

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. In a structure of the character described, an elongated supportmember and a panel mounted thereon substantially perpendicular theretoand extending lengthwise of said support, said panel having a pluralityof jacks arranged in bank mounted thereon, said support member havingupstanding lugs spaced along the top thereof for securing said panel tosaid support, said support member having portions thereof offset alongthe top edge thereof between said spaced upstanding lugs.

2. In a structure of the character described, an elongated supportmember, a panel aiiixed to said support member substantially at rightangles thereto and extending lengthwise thereof, said panel beingprovided with openings arranged in rows longitudinally thereof, eachopening having a jack disposed therein, said jacks being adapted forcooperation with a plurality of plugs arranged in a bank to completeportions of electrical circuits therewith, a single plate memberdisposed upon said panel and fixed thereto and locking all of said jacksin their assembled operative positions, said support member having lugsthereon projecting through said panel and said plate member and adaptedfor securing said plate member and panel in assembly upon said supportmember.

3. In a structure of the character described, a jack unit including asubstantially elongated panel of insulating material having a pluralityof openings extending therethrough, a substantially elongated plate-likemetallic support member fixed to said panel substantiallyperpendicularly thereto and extending lengthwise thereof, a plurality ofjacks mounted in a bank on said panel, each of said jacks havingportions thereof overlying said panel and being thereby suspendedtherefrom and supported within its respective opening, in spacedrelation to said support member, each of said jacks presenting a plugpassageway extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to saidpanel and parallel to said support and in substantial registration withthe respective opening in the panel within which it is disposed, a plugunit having a plurality of plugs arranged thereon in a bank to completeportions of a plurality of different electrical circuits, each of saidjacks having a pair of arms between which the cooperating plug isadapted to be disposed, said jacks being mounted with the arms thereoflying in substantially parallel planes extending longitudinally of saidpanel and substantially parallel to said support member, said plugpassageways being somewhat larger than their cooperating plugs, wherebysaid plug unit will be capable of insertion or removal from said jackunit by rocking movement, which movement will be in a plane parallel tothe planes within which the arms of the jacks are disposed and parallelto the plane of said support member, thereby avoiding any distortion ofsaid arms due to said rocking movement.

4. In a structure of the character described an elongated relativelyflat metallic support member, and a panel of insulating material mountedthereon substantially perpendicularly thereto and extending lengthwisethereof, said panel having a plurality of openings arranged length- Wisethereof, each of -said openings having a jack disposed therein, each ofsaid jacks having portions thereof overlying said panel adjacent itsrespective opening whereby said jack is suspended from said panel withinsaid opening and spaced from said support member, said jacks beingarranged in a bank along said panel and being adapted to cooperate witha plurality of plugs arranged in corresponding bank for completingportions of a plurality of electrical circuits on insertion into saidjacks, said support member having upstanding lugs spaced along the topedge thereof, extending through saidpanel and adapted to be deformed .tosecure said panel to said support memben HARRY B. STONER. RODNEY W.PHILLIPS.

